這不是黃色：英語精讀講義

Using GPS, these trails represent pizza delivery in Manhattan on a typical Friday night.

透過 GPS，這些軌跡呈現了曼哈頓一個普通週五夜晚的披薩外送路線。

And is this a frog or a horse?

這是青蛙還是馬？

It's episode 52 of IMG.

這裡是《IMG》第 52 集。

This lemon looks yellow to me, and it probably looks yellow to you as well, 片語搭配

這顆檸檬在我看來是黃色的，你大概也覺得它是黃色的，

but not in the same way.

但我們看到黃色的方式並不一樣。

You see, here in this room, 表達脈絡

你看，在這個房間裡，

this lemon is subtractively yellow. 用詞

這顆檸檬呈現的是減色法的黃色。

It absorbs all visible wavelengths of light except for yellow light, 文法

它會吸收黃光以外所有可見波長的光，

which it reflects onto my retina.

再把黃光反射到我的視網膜上。

But the screen that you are using to watch this video doesn't produce yellow light at all. 片語搭配

但你用來觀看這部影片的螢幕，根本不會產生黃光。

In fact, it can only produce red, blue, or green light. 表達脈絡

事實上，它只能產生紅光、藍光或綠光。

The really cool but kind of disturbing thing about this is that here in the room, 講解

這件事真的很酷，但也有點令人不安：在這個房間裡，

I am actually seeing real yellow light, 表達脈絡

我看到的其實是真正的黃光，

but you are seeing fake yellow.

而你看到的卻是假的黃色。

Absolutely no yellow is coming off of your screen and falling on your retina. 片語動詞

你的螢幕絕對沒有發出任何黃光照到你的視網膜上。

But it still looks yellow because it's quite easy to lie to the brain. 慣用語

但它看起來依然是黃色，因為要欺騙大腦其實很容易。

Our retinas contain three different types of cone cells that are receptive to color, 片語搭配

我們的視網膜裡有三種能夠感知顏色的視錐細胞，

and each one is best suited to detect a certain color. 片語搭配

每一種最擅長偵測一種特定的顏色。

One is great for blue, the other is great for green, 表達脈絡

一種特別擅長感知藍色，另一種特別擅長感知綠色，

and the third is great for red.

第三種則特別擅長感知紅色。

Notice that there's no individual cell looking for yellow. 文法

請注意，並沒有哪一種單獨的細胞專門偵測黃色。

So, the way we actually see yellow happens like this.

所以，我們真正看到黃色的過程是這樣的。

The wavelength of yellow light falls between the wavelengths of red and green.

黃光的波長介於紅光和綠光的波長之間。

And so, when an object reflects yellow light onto your retina,

因此，當一個物體把黃光反射到你的視網膜上時，

both the green and the red cones are slightly activated,

感知綠色和紅色的視錐細胞都會稍微活化，

which your brain notices and says,

你的大腦注意到這一點，就會說：

"Well, that's what happens when something's yellow, so it must be yellow." 文法

「嗯，黃色的東西就是會產生這種反應，所以它一定是黃色。」

All a computer monitor or mobile phone screen has to do to make you think you're seeing yellow 文法

電腦顯示器或手機螢幕要讓你以為自己看到了黃色，只需要

is send a little bit of red and a little bit of green light at you.

朝你發出一點紅光和一點綠光。

As long as the pixels and the little subpixels on them are small enough that you can't distinguish them individually, 文法

只要像素及其中的小型子像素夠小，讓你無法逐一分辨，

your brain will just say,

你的大腦就會直接說：

"Well, I'm receiving some red and some green.

「嗯，我接收到了一些紅光和綠光。

That's what yellow things do.

黃色的東西就是這樣。

Hmm, it must be yellow."

唔，那一定是黃色。」

Even though it actually is not. 表達脈絡

儘管它實際上根本不是黃色。

Lemons can also produce electricity.

檸檬也能發電。

A little bit of zinc, a little bit of copper, and boom, you're moving electrons around. 表達脈絡

一點鋅，一點銅，砰——電子就流動起來了。

But not that many. 文法

但流動的電子並不多。

I mean, the current voltage are quite low.

我的意思是，電流和電壓都很低。

You could run an LCD, but even a potato could do that. 語氣意圖

你可以用它驅動液晶顯示器，不過連馬鈴薯都辦得到。

If you wanted to run a flashlight bulb, that would take 3,000 lemons. 文法

如果想點亮一顆手電筒燈泡，就需要 3000 顆檸檬。

And if you wanted to run a halogen bulb, well, that would take 37,000 lemons.

如果想點亮一顆鹵素燈泡，嗯，那就需要 37000 顆檸檬。

But artist Caleb Charland doesn't care.

但藝術家 Caleb Charland 並不在乎。

He spent 11 hours hammering nails into 300 living apples hanging on trees. 文法

他花了 11 個小時，把釘子敲進 300 顆仍長在樹上的蘋果裡。

By connecting them to a household lamp, 文法

他把這些蘋果連接到一盞家用燈具上，

he was able to make it glow just dimly enough 文法

成功讓燈發出恰到好處的微光，

to capture this image with a 4-hour exposure. 用詞

再用 4 小時的曝光拍下這張照片。

Less alive and more frightening are Steve Shaheen's sculptures, 文法

相較之下，Steve Shaheen 的雕塑沒那麼有生命力，卻更嚇人：

little dudes with bulb heads desperately trying to plug themselves in. 片語動詞

一群頂著燈泡腦袋的小傢伙，拚命想把自己插上電。

Merve Kahraman's Revitalizer never dies. 慣用語

Merve Kahraman 的作品《Revitalizer》永遠不會死去。

It's a light bulb surrounded by wax.

它是一顆被蠟包圍的燈泡。

Now, the wax melts because of the lightbulb's heat

燈泡的熱度會讓蠟融化，

and drips into a special container in all kinds of weird new shapes.

接著滴進一個特殊容器裡，形成各種古怪的新形狀。

But whenever you want, you can just flip it 文法

不過你隨時都可以把它翻轉過來，

so that the new cooled wax is at the top. 文法

讓已經冷卻的新蠟回到頂部。

But my favorite is the Fukusada Wooden Lightbulb.

但我最喜歡的是 Fukusada Wooden Lightbulb。

It looks like a solid block of wood, but it's actually hollow and chipped to a nearly paper-thin width. 講解

它看起來像一整塊實心木頭，其實內部是中空的，而且被削得薄如紙張。

When you turn it on, you can see the light coming from inside.

打開它時，你就能看到從裡面透出的光。

Combos.

組合圖。

Artist Tang Yau Hoong blew my mind this week. 慣用語

藝術家 Tang Yau Hoong 這週讓我大開眼界。

We've got clear days and smoke,

這裡有晴天與煙霧，

boats and Crocs,

船與 Crocs，

whales and hearts,

鯨魚與愛心，

Pi Bike, brains and boxing gloves,

Pi Bike、大腦與拳擊手套，

day and night.

白天與黑夜。

But don't be scared.

不過別害怕。

You can always paint yourself some light or just swing on some light.

你隨時都可以替自己畫點光，或乾脆在光上盪鞦韆。

Okay, let's frame it this way. 慣用語

好吧，我們換個「框」法來看。

Climbing wall.

攀岩牆。

This fitness club in Japan uses frames and other pretty interior elements to create a decidedly less rugged climbing wall. 用詞

日本這家健身俱樂部利用畫框和其他漂亮的室內裝潢元素，打造出一面明顯沒那麼粗獷的攀岩牆。

But let's get simple, like minimal.

不過，讓我們簡單一點，走極簡風。

Thanks to LEGO, here are their bricks arranged to represent famous characters. 片語搭配

多虧了 LEGO，這裡可以看到用 LEGO 積木排列出的知名角色。

Enjoy.

請欣賞。

Now for some art,

接下來看看一些藝術——

illusions.

錯視藝術。

Here's a cute couple, but can you see in this very same image the baby they will soon have?

這裡有一對可愛的情侶，但你能在同一張圖裡看出他們即將擁有的寶寶嗎？

Or how about these zebras? 語氣意圖

再看看這些斑馬如何？

There's a lion hiding amongst them.

牠們中間藏著一頭獅子。

Can you find it?

你找得到嗎？

Billboards can be clever, but here's a great one that makes it look like someone is pushing out a section of the building. 文法

廣告看板可以很有創意，而這一面就很棒，看起來像有人正把建築的一部分往外推。

But how many of you will remember seeing it? 文法

但你們之中會有多少人記得看過它呢？

If we assume that you don't remember experiencing major cultural events before you're 5 or 6 years old, 表達脈絡

假設你不記得自己五、六歲以前經歷過的重大文化事件，

that means that every year there are fewer and fewer people alive who remember experiencing recent historical events. 文法

那麼，每一年，仍然在世且記得自己親歷過近代歷史事件的人都會愈來愈少。

XKCD made this amazing chart to show when in the future the majority, 表達脈絡

XKCD 製作了這張精彩的圖表，用來呈現未來會在什麼時候出現這樣的多數群體：

more than half of living Americans will not remember being alive when certain things happened.

超過半數在世的美國人，不記得某些事件發生時自己已經在世。

For instance, he calculated using data from the U.S. Census Bureau 講解

例如，他利用美國人口普查局的資料計算出，

that 2012, this very year, 用詞

2012 年，也就是今年，

is the first year in American history since in which

是美國歷史上第一個出現以下情況的年份：

fewer than half of living Americans remember being alive in the 1970s. 文法

在世的美國人中，記得自己曾生活在 1970 年代的不到一半。

By 2041, most of us won't remember a time when Pluto was actually called a planet. 講解

到 2041 年，我們大多數人都不會記得冥王星曾經被稱為行星的時代。

By 2043, most of us alive won't remember living during George W. Bush's presidency.

到 2043 年，當時在世的大多數人都不會記得自己曾經歷喬治·W·布希的總統任期。

And by 2047, more than half of living Americans

到 2047 年，在世的美國人中將有超過一半

will not have been alive to have remembered anything that you did today. 文法

在今天根本還沒出生，因此不會記得你今天做過的任何事。

Like when you made that funny face in the yearbook. 文化背景

例如你在畢業紀念冊裡做出的那個滑稽表情。

No, no, no, that funny face. 語氣意圖

不，不，不，是那個滑稽表情。

If you're not following @tweetsauce, you are missing out on daily Vsaucy content, 片語動詞

如果你還沒追蹤 @tweetsauce，就會錯過每天更新的 Vsauce 風格內容，

most of which never makes it to a video. 講解

其中大部分永遠不會被做成影片。

So, go follow us on Twitter,

所以，去 Twitter 上追蹤我們吧，

and I'm going to leave you with another combo, 片語搭配

最後再留給你們一個組合圖，

a tessellation while you listen to Jake Chudnow's Flan.

一幅鑲嵌圖案，同時請欣賞 Jake Chudnow 的《Flan》。

He made a music video for this song over on his channel, so check that out.

他在自己的頻道裡為這首歌製作了一支音樂錄影帶，記得去看看。

And, as always, thanks for watching.

一如往常，感謝收看。